Fabric control apparatus



Dec. 11, 1956 s, co -1 ETAL 2,773,296

FABRIC CONTROL APPARATUS Filed June 5, 1953 I INVENTORS. 35 36 SamuelCohn Eugene Cohn BY Jules G. Wulr-er ATTORNE 5 United States PatentWalter, Manhasset, N. Y., assignors to Samcoe Holding Corporation,Woodsidc, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 5, 1953,Serial No. 359,875

19 Claims. (Cl. 26-55) This invention relates to an apparatus forcontrolling the advance of tubular knitted fabric in substantiallyflattened form, More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatusadapted to be employed in combination with a conventional spreader overwhich tubular knitted fabric is passed and distended to flattened form,or in combination with one of the many conventional types of propellerswhich are usedto advance tubular knitted fabric longitudinally while atthe same time distending the fabric to flattened form, for counteractingthe tendency of the fabric to spiral about the spreader or propeller, asthe case may be, during the advance and/or for imposing a positivespiral movement of the flattened fabric during advance to give anydesired orientation to the flattened fabric during a treating operationor in preparation for a subsequent treating operation.

Tubular knittedfabric is advanced in flattened form for a variety oftreating operations such as calendering, steaming, inspection, folding,rolling, rerolling, etc. It is placed in flattened condition by aconventional spreader over which it is drawn, or by any of a variety ofpropeller type spreading apparatus such as those disclosed in UnitedStates Patents Nos. 2,285,402, 2,339,151 and 2,391,547,

all assigned to the same assignee as is this application. In beingpassed over these various fabric spreading and flattening devices,tubular knitted fabrics have exhibited atendency to spiral to a certainextent, the degree of spiraling varying with different types of fabric.For most treating operations, however, it is desirable, if notessential, that the flattened fabric be placed in a particularorientation. For example, certain fabrics are knitted with a selvage andin many instances it is desirable that this selvage lie exactly alongthe edge of the flattened fabric. In order that this may be accomplisheddespite the tendency of the fabric to spiral in being flattened andpassing over a spreading device, some means must be provided tocounteract the spiraling tendency. In other instances it is de sirablethat the selvage lie at some predetermined posi tion between theed gesof the flattened fabric. In the past, control of the fabric in passingover a spreading device has been taken care of manually, that is, thema} chine operator manually adjusts the position of the fabric duringits passage over the spreading device so that the selvage will lie alongthe edge thereof or at some predetermined position intermediate theedges. Some of the disadvantages of such a manual control will beobvious, namely, that the longitudinal advance of the fabric mustnecessarily be very slow and hence this type of control is mostuneconomical. Also under certain circumstances the fabric is steamedduring its advance over the spreading deviceand hence a safety hazardissimposed on the operator attempting .to control the advance .of, thefabric.

The same .need for lateral control of-atubular knitted fabric that isdistended to flattenedformby longitudinal advance over a spreadingdevice also arisesinthe handling of tubularifabricsknittedwithout aselvage. Hence in 2,773,296 Patented Dec. 11,1956

knitting certain fabrics, a separate feed of a .dis: similar yarn orcolor of yarn produces a stripe or line longitudinally of the fabric,the orientation of which it is frequently desired to predeterminedllymaintain dur ing subsequent treating operations. In other instances oneor more feeds maybe left out in the knitting of the fabric, therebyproducing a drop-stitch. It is frequently desired in treating thesefabrics also to carefully control the posi: tion of the drop-stitchduring the advance of the fabric. Another instance in which carefulcontrol of the lateral or spiral movement of a piece of tubular knittedfabric is necessary during the longitudinal advance thereof in flattenedform is when a pattern has been printed on the top and/ or bottom sidesand the fabric is then to be finished. Duringthe handling and treatmentof these and other types and forms of tubular knitted fabric it is, asindicated, important to carefully. control the orientation of the fabricduring its advance in flattened condition. In this discussion, however,we shall discuss, for sinsplicityssake, only the control of the advanceof a tubular knitted fabric having a selvage formed therein.

The primary object of this invention. is therefore to provide anapparatus by which a tubular knitted fabric may be properly orientedduring its longitudinal advance in distended, flattened form whereby thedisadvantages inherent in a similar manual control are obviated.

Accordingly our invention contemplates the provision of apparatus foruse in combination with a spreading device that will engage one layer ofa tubular knitted fabric being advanced over the spreading device inflattened form and'c'onstantly change or maintain any lateral movementof that layer of the fabric. In accomplishing this result, the aforesaidlayer of fabric is distended from its normal plane of advance to providefirm engagement with the control apparatus.

More particularly, our invention contemplates the provi; sion, incombinationwith a spreading device for distend ing a tubular textilefabric to flattened form as it is advanced thereover, of a rotatablemeans supported by the spreading device and adapted to lie within thetubular fabric during advance thereof over the spreading device. Therotatable means engages one layer of the fabric, distending it out ofits normal plane of advance over the spreading device. A secondrotatable means supported outside the advancing fabric is positioned toengage the layer of fabric so distended and to alter the .direction ofmovement thereof relative to the general direction of advance of thefabric. Both rotatable means are adjustably mounted so that their axesof rotation may.

be altered relative to the direction of advance of the fabric to vary toa greater or lesser extent the degree of; change in direction ofmovement of the fabric laterally of the direction of advance.

F or a more detailed discussion of our invention, refer:

once may be had to the following specific description of one form ofapparatus according to our invention taken in connection with theaccompanying drawingin which it is illustrated and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus in combination with aconventional spreader;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an alternative form of one portion ofthe control apparatus; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the adjustment means for oneportion of the control apparatus.

Referring to Fig. 1, the numeral 10 identifies a portion of the frame ofa fabric-treating apparatus. On it are mounted a pair of idler rolls 11and lz adapted to support a conventional spreader 13 made of Wire andhaving a curved lead-on end 14 and-terminating in a dead barfabric-drive rolls 16 shown in phantom. Atubular. fabric 17 having aselvage 18 is drawn by the drive rolls 16 from a source of supply, notshown, over an idler roll 19 suitably supported on frame and thence overthe spreader 13, the curved end 14 of which facilitates the lateraldistension of the fabric onto the spreader.

With most tubular knitted fabrics a tendency to spiral is exhibited inpassage thereof over the spreader 13. Hence, as indicated, it has beenthe practice to manually adjust the fabric as it passes over thespreader in order to counteract this spiraling tendency and in order toproperly position the selvage 18 of the fabric. The apparatus of thisinvention which is provided in order to obviate the necessity of manualadjustment of the fabric, whereby the fabric may be passed over thespreader and at a greatly increased rate, comprises a rotatable wheel 30mounted for free rotation Within the tubular fabric on an arm 31 whichis in turn adjustably supported by a clamp 32 adjustably mounted on arod 33 which is secured by a clamp 34 to the curved inlet end 14 of thespreader. The clamps 32 and 34 may be seen more clearly in Fig. 2. Itwill be noted that the clamp 34 is made up of two angular sections 35and 36 that may be secured together to embrace the curved portion of thespreader 14 and further to clamp securely therebetween rod 33. The clamp32 adjustably receives and may be secured to rod 33, the same holdingtrue for the support thereby of rod 31 on which wheel 30 freely rotates.It will be noted in Fig. 1 that the wheel 30 is adapted to rotate in aplane normal to the plane of the flattened fabric, the upper surfacethereof extending substantially above the normal plane of the upperlayer of the fabric. Hence in passage over the spreader and over thewheel 30, the upper layer of the fabric is distended out of its normalplane and therefore firmly engages the surface of wheel 30.

A control roll 40 provided with any suitable surface for making goodfrictional contact with the fabric is supported above the flattenedfabric 17 and spreader 13 toward the discharge end of the spreader fromcontrol wheel 30. The control roll 40 is supported for free rotationbetween the free ends of a U-shaped frame member 41 which is in turnadjustably supported by an adjustable connection 42 from a rigidU-shaped frame 43 fixedly secured to the main frame 10. The control roll40 is so supported relative to control wheel 30 that its surface isfirmly engaged by the upper layer of fabric distended above its normalplane by control wheel 30.

An enlarged view of the adjustable connection 42 which supports movableframe 41 from fixed frame 43 is shown in Fig. 3. It comprises avertically upstanding rod 45 which is fixed to frame 41 and extendsfreely through a cross member 46 of frame 43. At its upper end rod 45 isthreaded to receive a nut 47 to which is welded a friction plate 48. Alock-nut 49 is provided to lock nut 47 and the attached friction plate48 in any desired position along the threaded portion of rod 45. Asecond friction plate 50 is secured to cross member 46 of the fixedframe. Interposed between the friction plates 48 and 50 is a cork disk51. A spring 52 surrounding the lower portion of rod 45 is compressedbetween cross member 46 of the fixed frame and a pair of jam nuts 53supported by the movable frame 41. The spring 52 normally urges theframe 41 and rod 45 downwardly relative to fixed frame 43 compressingthe cork disk 51 between friction plates 48 and 50. From the abovedescription it will be clear that the adjustable frame 41 and rod 45 maybe rotated about the axis of rod 45 against the frictional resistance torotation imposed by cork disk 51. The connection may be adjusted to varythe degree of this resistance to rotation. Normally the amount offriction employed is enough to resist movement of the frame by thefabric through roll 40 but is not enough to prevent manual rotation ofthe frame.

In operation of the apparatus, the fabric is initially spread toflattened form by the lead-on end 14 of the spreader. During the lateraldistension of the fabric, the upper layer thereof is raised from itsnormal plane and rides over guide wheel 30. The positioning of guidewheel 30 is such that the upward distension of the upper layer of thefabric extends lengthwise thereof until it meets and is firmly engagedby guide roll 40. If, as is usual, the fabric tends to spiral as itadvances on the spreader, so that the selvage, which for the purpose ofillustration is shown initially lying along one edge thereof, tends tomove away from the edge of the fabric, the guide roll frame 41 ispivoted about the axis of its support so that the engagement of guideroll 40 with the fabric will tend to spiral the fabric in the oppositedirection to compensate for the inherent spiraling, whereby the selvagemay be maintained along the edge of the flattened fabric. Should thefabric not be initially presented to the spreader, so that the selvagelies along one edge thereof, the adjustment of guide roll 40 will bemade so that the spiralingof the fabric imposed thereby will result inthe selvage being gradually moved to the edge. If, as indicated, it isdesirable to have the selvage positioned at the edge of the flattenedfabric, then the edge of the fabric itself may serve as a guide. In theevent, however, it is desirable to have the selvage lie in the center ofthe upper layer of the fabric, some other guide must be provided. Such aguide may be a rod 60 fixed to and depending from the fixed frame 43.

As previously indicated in the description of the guide wheel 30 and itssupport, the guide wheel itself may be adjusted from its normal positionin a plane extending in the direction of advance of the fabric to aplane extending at an angle thereto. When so adjusted, the guide guidewheel 30. However, in most instances it is necessary to employ guideroll 40 for this purpose, guide roll 30 then serving primarily to raisethe upper layer of fabric so that it will make good firm contact withguide roll 40.

Where a particularly wide movement of the selvage from its position inthe fabric as fed to the spreader to its desired position in theflattened fabric is necessary, the upper layer of cloth should bedistended frequently to a greater extent than it will be distended bythe guide wheel 30 as shown. In these instances a modified form ofsupport for the guide wheel may be employed. Such a modified form ofsupport is illustrated in Fig. 2 where the guide wheel 30 is supportedsubstantially directly above rather than to one side of support rod 33.A wheel support member 31' of slightly diiferent form than cor--responding wheel support member 31 previously described is employed forthis purpose, the clamp 32 extending then in a vertical direction fromrod 33 rather than laterally therefrom as illustrated in Fig. 1. Withthis alternative mounting of guide wheel 30 it is especially importantthat provision be made to avoid excessive damage to a piece of fabricbeing advanced that has a hole therein resulting from a knittingimperfection or the like that might catch on the guide roll 30. Toaccomplish this a fabric guide member 61 is provided which extends fromclamp 34 upwardly toward the upper edge of guide wheel 30. The upper endof the guide rod is split, having portions extending on either side ofthe guide wheel 30 just below its upper extremity. Normally the fabricwill not engage the guide rod 61, but in the event there is a hole inthe fabric being advanced and it is in line to pass over guide wheel 30,the guide rod 61 will prevent its catching on the wheel.

While the above specific description of a particular form of apparatusaccording to my invention has been set forth in connection with controlof the position of a selvage in a piece of tubular fabric being advancedin flattened fo'rm; it should, as previously indicated, be under: stoodthat other types of fabric require-the same control oftheir movements,-such'for instance as fabricsprovided with drop-stitches, loose-stitches,stripes, etc. Further more it will be understood that various changesand modifications may be made in the apparatus illustrated and describedwithout departing from Tthe. scope of our invention which, thereforeshould be limited only to the extent set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In combination-with a device for spreading a tubular textile fabricto'flattened formas it is-advanced thereover, arotatable'membersupported by said device for rotation in a planesubstantially normal to the plane of the flattened fabric and-adapted tolie within the tubular fabric passed over said spreaderto engage onelayer thereof, the fabric engageable surface of said rotatable memberlying a substantial distance from the plane in which said one layer offabric is normally disposed by said spreading device whereby the tubularfabric is distended substantially in two directions in passage over saidspreading device and said rotatable member, and means to adjust saidrotatable member to change the angle of its plane of rotation relativeto the direction of advance of "said tubular fabric.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 which includes a guide means supportedadjacent said rotatable member to guide said one layer of the fabricfrom its normal plane of advance substantially to the plane of thefabric engageable surface of the rotatable member.

3. In combination with a device for spreading a tubular textile fabricto flattened form as it is advanced thereover, a rotatable membersupported by said device for rotation in a plane substantially normal tothe plane of the flattened fabric and adapted to lie within the tubularfabric passed over said spreader to engage one layer thereof, the fabricengageable surface of said rotatable member lying a substantial distancefrom the plane in which said one layer of fabric is normally disposed bysaid spreading device whereby the tubular fabric is distendedsubstantially in two directions in passage over said spreading deviceand said rotatable member, means to adjust said rotatable member tochange the angle of its plane of rotation relative to the direction ofadvance of said tubular fabric, and a freely rotatable roll engageablewith the outer surface of said one layer of fabric the axis of said rollextending laterally of said flattened fabric and substantially parallelto the normal plane thereof.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 which includes means adjustablysupporting said freely rotatable roll for movement relative to saidfabric to change the direction of extent of its axis of rotationrelative to the direction of advance of the fabric.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 in which said supporting meansincludes means to maintain said rotatable roll in any adjusted position.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 in which the means for maintaining therotatable roll in any adjusted position comprises friction means.

7. In combination with a device for spreading a tubular textile fabricto flattened form as it is advanced thereover, means supported by saiddevice and adapted to lie within said tubular fabric as the latterpasses over the device to engage one layer thereof and distend it out ofits normal plane of travel over the spreading device, and meanssupported to engage the distended outer face of said one layer of theflattened fabric to impose upon the fabric as it advances a forcetending to produce a spiraling movement thereof.

8. In combination with a device for spreading a tubular textile fabricto flattened form as it advances thereover, a rotatable member supportedby said device and adapted to lie within said tubular fabric as thelatter passes over the device to engage one layer thereof and distend itout of its normal plane of travel over the spreading devicegand :arotatable rollnsupported to engage the distendedpoutenface of said onelayer of the flattened fabric to impose upon the .fabricas ityadvancesa-force tending said spreading device formovement to changethe direc-.

tion of extentof its axis ofrot-ation relativeto the direction ofadvance of thefabric.

ll. A .pparatus according to claim 8 "which includesmeansadjustablysupportingsaid-rotatable roll for movement to change thedirection; ofaextent of its axis of rotation relative to the directionof advance of the fabric and which includes means adjustably supportingsaid rotatable member upon said spreading device for movement to changethe direction of extent of its axis of rotation relative to thedirection of advance of the fabric.

12. Apparatus according to claim 8 in which both the rotatable memberand rotatable roll are mounted for free rotation.

13. In combination with a device for spreading a tubular textile fabricto flattened form as it is advanced thereover, a freely rotatable membersupported by said device for rotation in a plane substantially normal tothe plane of the flattened fabric and adapted to lie within the tubularfabric passed over said spreader to engage one layer thereof, the fabriceugageable surface of said rotatable member lying a substantial distancefrom the plane in which said one layer of fabric is normally disposed bysaid spreading device whereby the tubular fabric is distendedsubstantially in two directions in passage over said spreading deviceand said rotatable member, means to adjust said rotatable member tochange the angle of its plane of rotation relative to the direction ofadvance of said tubular fabric, a freely rotatable roll engageable withthe outer surface of the distended portion of said one layer of fabric,and a U-shaped frame supporting said rotatable roll between the freeends of its side arms so that its axis extends laterally of saidflattened fabric and substantially parallel to the normal plane oftravel of said layer of fabric.

14. Apparatus according to claim 13 which includes means supporting saidU-shaped frame in :a vertical plane for rotation about a vertical axis.

15. Apparatus according to claim 14 in which the frame supporting meansincludes friction means maintaining the frame in any rotated position.

16. In combination with apparatus for spreading tubular textile fabricto flattened form and for advancing the fabric in such flattened form,means adapted to lie Within the tubular fabric in spread condition andengageable with one layer of the flattened fabric along a line ofcontact extending at an acute angle to the direction of advance of thefabric to impose upon the fabric as it advances a force tending toproduce a spiraling movement thereof.

17. In combination with apparatus for spreading tubular textile fabricto flattened form and for advancing the fabric in such flattened form,rotatable means adapted to lie within the tubular fabric in spreadcondition and engageable with one layer of the flattened fabric along aline of contact extending at an acute angle to the direction of advanceof the fabric to impose upon the fabric as it advances a force tendingto produce a spiraling movement thereof.

18. In combination with apparatus for spreading tubular textile fabricto flattened form and for advancing the fabric in such flattened form,means for constraining one layer of the flattened fabric to move througha path a substantial distance from its normal plane of travel over saidspreading apparatus, rotatable means engageable with said one layer ofthe flattened. fabric a substantial distance from the normal plane oftravel thereof and along a line of contact extending at an acute angleto the direction of advance of the fabric to impose upon the fabric asit advances a force tending toproduce a spiraling movement thereof, andmeans to adjust the position of the fabric engageable means to changethe angle of contact thereof with the one layer of fabric.

19. In combination with apparatus for spreading tubular textile fabricto flattened form and for advancing the fabric in such flattened form,means for constraining one layer of the flattened fabric to move througha path a substantial distance from its normal plane of travel over saidspreading apparatus, a rotatable member engageable with said one layerof the flattened fabric a substantial distance from the normal plane oftravel thereof,

means adjustably supporting said rotatable member for movement to changethe direction of extent of its axis of rotation relative to thedirection of advance of the fabric, and means maintaining said rotatablemember in any adjusted position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS964,088 Chatfield July 12, 1910 1,372,766 Moore Mar. 29, 1921 1,678,383Firsching July 24, 1928' 2,339,151 Cohn et al. Jan. 11, 1944, 2,476,070Solliday July 12, 1949 2,591,903 Yost Apr. 8, 1952 2,652,615 LasleySept. 22, 1953

